Catapult your Customer Service Operations and After-Sales Product Support to the Next Generation with One Strategic Vision

In recent years, the drive to increase overall business revenue from customer service programs and after-sales product support operations has become a top priority for many organizations. The “why” is easy: It’s much less costly to keep and reap benefits from current and repeat customers than it is to gain new customers. The “how” is much harder: The challenge and the ultimate key to success for these organizations lies in how they effectively align customer service and product support operations into one strategic vision.

Assessing the Landscape

Typically when looking to streamline customer and product service within an organization, the first typical step is a deep analysis of the relevant people, processes and operations.

Next, the information collected is questioned, areas of focus are identified and plan of attack is developed. This is often times where breakdown occurs, where opportunities to align and elevate customer service and after-sales product support are missed.

When looking internally, often times organizations may have a skewed or clouded view of all the integral human interactions, pieces and data parts that may impact the operation. This is completely understandable.

Just because a business is an expert in their particular product /industry, does not mean they are an expert in the field of customer service or product support.

So, how does a company learn and incorporate the latest innovative approaches or the most effective service management systems and procedures into their operations?

How ServiceCentral’s Platform Can Help

This is where ServiceCentral Technologies comes into play. ServiceCentral, a pioneer in cloud service chain management, has both the subject matter expertise and the uniquely flexible service management software platform to catapult companies to the next generation of customer service and product support with aligned, unified service management.

ServiceCentral focuses on 4 key areas of service management in the effort to continue innovative development of their consulting services and software solutions. Read on for a systematic breakdown of the contributing factors of each area and of research that influence to the evolution of the ServiceCentral approach.

1. Reduce Operating Costs:

Identification of the volumes flowing through the service operations and location of bottlenecks

Automation of the processes involved in providing a fast and accurate customer service

Workforce/personnel reduction on the after-sales and technical assistance related operations

Parts and repair information capture in the repair process, providing performance analysis of the product and productivity statistics

Parts and repair time costs tracking associated with each repair

Overview of measurements and specific details with real time online reports, allowing instant analysis of the operation as a whole

Operating costs and parts management compliant to the manufacturer’s standards

Costs and inventory locations management

2. Improve Process Efficiency:

Centralized view of the service operation

Overview of how third party service providers are performing;

Identification of the volumes flowing through the service operations and where the bottlenecks are

Business Intelligence on service operations, allowing full visibility of critical issues that bother your customer

Greater control over service operations, both internal and external, based on accurate on-line information

Increased productivity of post-sales service operations

Centralized planning

Customer complaint registration on a consistent terminology

Shipping Integration with tracking and logistics systems

Parts/items management allocated in the subcontractors

Detailed and configurable reports of the service operations performance

Problems description using manufacturer’s resolution code standards

Automatic replacement / purchase order generation

3. Increase the Quality of After-Sales Service:

View of the speed and accuracy we are reimbursing warranty service that have been approved and finalized

Support to exchange and equipment loan programs

Allows customer service history (Preferred) visualization

Tracking and step-by-step information availability relating to all repair details and customer feedback while the product is in service

Service Level Agreement monitoring

Ability to collect data, in a centralized database, from all measuring instruments in a company network, even if geographically dispersed

Service operations Business Intelligence, provides a complete view of the key points of customer relations

4. Gain Profits from Post-Sales Service Operations:

View the motives for product returns for analysis

Allow management of high volume of repairs in large retail operations and repair centers

Inventory tracking at the resellers, warehouses, manufacturers and authorized service center. Allows monitoring parts in third party warehouses or remote inventory

Increased profits and revenues in the service operations due to reduced reimbursement/ erroneous payments and increased “extras” sales

About the Author

Steve Teel is President and CEO of ServiceCentral Technologies, and has been in the software, telecom and logistics industries for over 20 years. He lives in Atlanta Georgia and enjoys playing drums, golfing, and hiking in his spare time.